Vancouver, Sept. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Municipal operating spending has surged over the past decade, pushing property taxes higher and worsening affordability pressures for families and businesses, according to a new report released today by the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC).
The report, Runaway Train: A Closer Look at the Exceptional Growth in B.C. Municipal Spending, found that 78 per cent of B.C. municipalities increased inflation-adjusted spending faster than municipal population growth between 2013 and 2023. The result was $3.6 billion in “excess” spending ultimately borne by households and businesses through higher property taxes and other fees.
The evidence is striking: property taxes on owner-occupied homes rose 94 per cent from January 2010 to July 2025. This was more than double the rate of overall CPI inflation (42 per cent) and nearly double the rate of property tax inflation nationally (54 per cent).
“Municipal spending across B.C. has become a runaway train powered by taxpayers’ dollars,” says Jairo Yunis, BCBC’s Director of Policy. “Over the past decade, municipalities have spent $834 per capita more than what municipal population growth and CPI inflation would suggest is warranted. Most of the “excess” spending has been on “core” …